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CHECK IN, CHECK OUT; San Francisco: Inn at the Presidio

By JESSE McKINLEY

Published: July 1, 2012

CORRECTION APPENDED

THE UPSHOT

The first hotel to open in the Presidio, the former military base on San Francisco's northwest edge, with suites and rooms from $195 to $350.

BASICS

Opened in early April in a building that once housed the base's bachelor officers, the 22-room inn blends touches of its military history -- like a wall of reveille-ready bugles in the lobby -- with more modern amenities, including Wi-Fi strong enough to please local Silicon Valley types. Flanked by eucalyptus, pine and the occasional palm, it might be just another redbrick building among many others that dot the area, now administered by the Presidio Trust, a federal agency created to preserve the Presidio. Once inside, however, visitors are greeted with the type of design that would probably have stunned -- and thrilled -- grunts and generals alike: low-slung leather couches; high-design modern lamps; and, most important, warm gas stoves. (San Francisco's fog can be especially intense in the Presidio.) A quiet backyard area features an outdoor fire pit, while the back room contains a long, elegant chow table where wine and cheese are served nightly. It's all a far cry from cold nights, and colder beds, that its previous tenants had to endure.

LOCATION

The three-story inn is in a structure technically known as Building 42, on the Presidio's Main Post, the once-thriving headquarters of the base, which covers about 1,500 acres. Finding it may be a challenge, however, since the Presidio's roads twist and turn and signage can be hard to spot. And while the former base is close to several thriving parts of town -- the bar-happy Marina District, the boutique-and-bistro friendly Union Street -- getting there, or anywhere, requires a car, unless walking along darkened boulevards is your thing.

THE ROOM

Most of the units are suites with a bedroom and a front room with deep pullout couches, big windows and communal porches with wooden rocking chairs. High ceilings and original moldings are a nice touch, as well. My room offered a lovely vista, including a peak of the Marin Headlands and the Golden Gate Bridge poking its neck above the marine layer. The bedroom's view was less impressive -- I could see my neighbors primping in a room to the building's rear -- but the king-size bed, newly minted linens and terry cloth robe were cozy enough for a commander.

THE BATHROOM

A mix of niceties -- including an elegantly tiled shower and tub, a sleek, single-basin sink and a fingernail-shaped shaving mirror -- and nostalgia, including, hanging over the commode, a framed postcard from 1909 to one Ms. Sophie Delahux in Honolulu from a lonely officer once stationed at the base. ''Only a month now,'' it reads. Water pressure was robust, though counter space was not.

AMENITIES

The inn has no restaurant or room service, though the Presidio's dining -- and delivery -- options are on the rise, including the nearby Presidio Social Club, another reclamation project that has proved popular with locals. A continental breakfast, included in the rate, is served daily, and it offered a better selection than most mess halls, with a healthy mix of granola, eggs, scones and more. And the nightly wine and cheese event is a nice chance to relax, and meet your bunkmates.

BOTTOM LINE

This is a lovingly restored hideaway, ideal for historically minded visitors who also want to get a glimpse of the Presidio's future.

PHOTO: Wine reception at the Inn at the Presidio. (PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL DYER)

Correction: July 29, 2012, Sunday

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: The Check In/Check Out column on July 1, about the Inn at the Presidioin San Francisco, misidentified the entity that manages the land on which the inn is located. It is managed by the Presidio Trust, a federal agency created to preserve the Presidio; it is not overseen by the National Park Service. (The park service administers some other parts of the Presidio.)

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